Can a US state do a statewide election where you vote for a party and it’s proportionally distributed so you can avoid gerrymandering?
5 seats available: 50.01% R, 49.99%D => 3R, 2D
In: Other
For the local statehouse, yes, absolutely. A US state can do a statewide election for the statehouse where you vote for a party and it’s proportionally distributed so that you avoid gerrymandering. There are very few restrictions on a state’s right to organize its own voting system.
But it can’t do so federally not until federal law changes. [Title 2 U.S. Code, Chapter 1, §2c](https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/USCODE-2022-title2/html/USCODE-2022-title2-chap1-sec2c.htm) preempts direct forms of proportional vote, by mandating that “Representatives shall be elected only from districts so established”, established by the way we’re all used to.
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If any method of proportional representation were tried, it would be challenged, legally. If it was found legal, it could only be found legal if it fully preserve the principle of local representation through the district system.
A very clever statesman might be able to devise a system where you choose representatives proportionally from district races based on statewide results, but then the courts would decide, and they might rule against it.
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